The present relates generally to exchange or purchase of value allocations, and more specifically to systems and methods for exchanging computer maintained value allocations.
A common method of encouraging consumer activity is to reward consumers for specified activities. Often, these rewards take the form of free or discounted merchandise based on a quantum of consumer activity. For example, restaurants may encourage consumers to eat lunch at the restaurant by providing free lunches after the consumer has frequented the restaurant for lunch a specified number of times. Airlines, as another example, often have reward programs which reward consumers for the activity of flying with the airline a certain number of trips or for a certain number of miles. Once the consumer has reached the requisite number of trips or miles, the consumer may exchange the value allocations for products or airline flights.
The Internet provides an additional example of value allocations for encouraging consumer activities. The Internet, and particularly the Worldwide Web (Web), allows individuals to obtain information, view content, and interact with other users and computer systems across the globe. The Internet can be used as an education device, with individuals learning about varied and different subjects. The Internet can also be used as an entertainment vehicle, with individuals able to receive entertainment, and more generally content, from a variety of sources. Indeed, the number of sources of entertainment and products on the web is staggering. Many of the entities delivering the content receive remuneration through the sale of products on the web, others charge for user interaction with a website, while others receive remuneration merely through advertising services of others. Given the staggering number of potential content sources, content providers have taken many steps to encourage users to visit, or interact with, their websites.
One method by which content providers encourages users to visit a website is to provide “points” to users based on a variety of factors regarding users interaction with a website. Some content providers sites may reward users with points by the amount of content the user requests from the website. Other content providers may provide points based on purchases at a website. The number of permutations by which content providers may provide, or allocate, points to a user is staggering.
Users, in turn, may redeem points with the content provider. Often, the redemption of points is accomplished through the purchase of goods from the content provider, with a purchase being paid for using the points. Thus, many of the content providers provide a selection of goods which may be collected through the use of points. In this way, users will be rewarded for interaction with the website by being provided goods based on their interaction. Unfortunately, users may interact with a number of websites, and thus accumulate a small number of points from a variety of different content providers. Users who are aware that they are going to accumulate a small number of points from a variety of content providers understand that they are unable to redeem their points for goods. Thus, a point base system provides essentially no incentive for such users to visit a particular website. Indeed, the allocations of points for interaction of a website may serve no purpose with respect to those users. Moreover, the users have no way of redeeming the small number of points they have for a variety of web content providers.
Further, in such a system, different content providers provide different goods available for redemption, and often in different point value ranges. For example, one content provider may only have relatively expensive goods, which require a large number of user interactions with a content provider server. Other content providers may provide only relatively inexpensive goods to be redeemed by points. Accordingly, absent a completely diverse mix of goods available for redemption, content providers do not fully encourage a cross-section of users to utilize their websites. In sum, point systems are inefficient at encouraging users to visit websites, and point systems are inefficient in allowing users to redeem points.